This coming Tuesday, September 22nd, Cointreau Brand Ambassador Erin Williams will be at Rob Roy at 2nd and Battery in Belltown from 3-5pm. Erin will talk about Cointreau, new cocktail trends, and her favorite fall drinks. Free appetizers and free Cointreau cocktails will be served.
This event is exclusively for members of the Washington State Bartenders Guild. Why, you may ask, am I publicizing an event that is members only? Simple, stupid! We the members of the Washington State Bartenders Guild want you the non-members of the Washington State Bartenders Guild to become we the members of the Washington State Bartenders Guild! Let's get a little unity here. There's too much "we" and "they" in this world people. Let's eradicate these divisions that separate us and inevitably lead to conflict and despair. And let's do it in the most holistic manner possible: by THEY joining WE...by YOU joining US.
When Gandhi said "we must become the change we hope to see in the world," what he meant was "join the Washington State Bartenders Guild." When Martin Luther King said, "The time is always right to do the right thing," he was saying the same. When John Lennon said "I am the walrus" ...well...anyone know what the hell he was talking about there? Sure the hell wasn't anything about a bartenders guild.
Anyway, you don't have to be a professional bartender to join the guild. It is a guild of both professionals and enthusiasts. You can sign up easily online. If you'd joined the guild when it formed in 2008, by now you could have attended the WSBG kickoff party, at which delicious cocktails were served for free by some of the area's best bartenders and all sorts of folks got the chance to meet one another.
There was also the Absinthe event, at which Gwydion Stone (Absinthe Marteau , The Wormwood Society) and Paul Clarke (Imbibe Magazine, SF Chronicle, etc.) spoke to a standing room only crowd prior to serving free Absinthe cocktails and tastings of Absinthe from Marteau, Pacifique, Leopold Brothers, Lucid, Pernod, St. George, Taboo, and Trillium).
Then came the vermouth event, which I missed out on sadly, but let's just say I found myself in the general vicinity of Zane and Anu's refrigerator a few times in the weeks after the event (ever wonder how many bottles of vermouth can fit into one fridge? I don't anymore).
There also was the Maker's Mark luncheon at Zig Zag, when we were joined by Mr. Maker's Mark himself, Bill Samuels. Bill treated us all to lunch while Murray Stenson and Erik Hakkinen made us drinks. Bill gave a talk about the history of Maker's Mark, handed out signed bottles of his bourbon, and asked me what part of Ireland I am from. "County Connecticut" I replied.
And there have been other events that I either was too drunk to remember or were kept secret from me and other Munats for obvious reasons centered on the community's general loathing of us. Oh, and there was also Ben's Magnum PI/Coors Light birthday party and Jim's Soul Train birthday party. Those weren't really guild events but you never know, if you were in the guild maybe you would have been invited.
Now is an excellent time to join the guild. In addition to this event, there will be an evening at Rob Roy October 12th with Chartreuse president Jean Marc and guest bartender Jackie Patterson (Jackie Patterson!!!) of Heaven's Dog in San Francisco. The following afternoon there is a Chartreuse luncheon at Vessel (more info on both these events will be provided in this space in coming weeks). And there are many talks and plans afoot for other events, both grande and piccolo.
And aside from the events, becoming part of the guild is a great way to support the art of the cocktail and the highest form of craft bartending. You do this by becoming a part of this community and lending your brains, heart, and occasionally a few smackers. I forget how much dues are but I know it's more than 50 dollars and less than 10 million. The money you spend goes to a good cause and your investment will be repaid to you ten fold in the form of free events and new pals. Just don't make me one of your new pals because you will - and I want to make this very, very clear - you will end up buying me drinks...and loaning me money I don't ever pay back. And I will sleep with your wife (or husband) and just basically screw you over. So to recap: join the guild, go to free events, make new friends...avoid Ted Munat at all costs.
You can sign up for the guild by going to their web site, and I'll bet if you show up at Rob Roy Tuesday between 3 and 5pm and say you want to join they can hook you up.
How was my sales pitch? See you there?
This event is exclusively for members of the Washington State Bartenders Guild. Why, you may ask, am I publicizing an event that is members only? Simple, stupid! We the members of the Washington State Bartenders Guild want you the non-members of the Washington State Bartenders Guild to become we the members of the Washington State Bartenders Guild! Let's get a little unity here. There's too much "we" and "they" in this world people. Let's eradicate these divisions that separate us and inevitably lead to conflict and despair. And let's do it in the most holistic manner possible: by THEY joining WE...by YOU joining US.
When Gandhi said "we must become the change we hope to see in the world," what he meant was "join the Washington State Bartenders Guild." When Martin Luther King said, "The time is always right to do the right thing," he was saying the same. When John Lennon said "I am the walrus" ...well...anyone know what the hell he was talking about there? Sure the hell wasn't anything about a bartenders guild.
Anyway, you don't have to be a professional bartender to join the guild. It is a guild of both professionals and enthusiasts. You can sign up easily online. If you'd joined the guild when it formed in 2008, by now you could have attended the WSBG kickoff party, at which delicious cocktails were served for free by some of the area's best bartenders and all sorts of folks got the chance to meet one another.
There was also the Absinthe event, at which Gwydion Stone (Absinthe Marteau , The Wormwood Society) and Paul Clarke (Imbibe Magazine, SF Chronicle, etc.) spoke to a standing room only crowd prior to serving free Absinthe cocktails and tastings of Absinthe from Marteau, Pacifique, Leopold Brothers, Lucid, Pernod, St. George, Taboo, and Trillium).
Then came the vermouth event, which I missed out on sadly, but let's just say I found myself in the general vicinity of Zane and Anu's refrigerator a few times in the weeks after the event (ever wonder how many bottles of vermouth can fit into one fridge? I don't anymore).
There also was the Maker's Mark luncheon at Zig Zag, when we were joined by Mr. Maker's Mark himself, Bill Samuels. Bill treated us all to lunch while Murray Stenson and Erik Hakkinen made us drinks. Bill gave a talk about the history of Maker's Mark, handed out signed bottles of his bourbon, and asked me what part of Ireland I am from. "County Connecticut" I replied.
And there have been other events that I either was too drunk to remember or were kept secret from me and other Munats for obvious reasons centered on the community's general loathing of us. Oh, and there was also Ben's Magnum PI/Coors Light birthday party and Jim's Soul Train birthday party. Those weren't really guild events but you never know, if you were in the guild maybe you would have been invited.
Now is an excellent time to join the guild. In addition to this event, there will be an evening at Rob Roy October 12th with Chartreuse president Jean Marc and guest bartender Jackie Patterson (Jackie Patterson!!!) of Heaven's Dog in San Francisco. The following afternoon there is a Chartreuse luncheon at Vessel (more info on both these events will be provided in this space in coming weeks). And there are many talks and plans afoot for other events, both grande and piccolo.
And aside from the events, becoming part of the guild is a great way to support the art of the cocktail and the highest form of craft bartending. You do this by becoming a part of this community and lending your brains, heart, and occasionally a few smackers. I forget how much dues are but I know it's more than 50 dollars and less than 10 million. The money you spend goes to a good cause and your investment will be repaid to you ten fold in the form of free events and new pals. Just don't make me one of your new pals because you will - and I want to make this very, very clear - you will end up buying me drinks...and loaning me money I don't ever pay back. And I will sleep with your wife (or husband) and just basically screw you over. So to recap: join the guild, go to free events, make new friends...avoid Ted Munat at all costs.
You can sign up for the guild by going to their web site, and I'll bet if you show up at Rob Roy Tuesday between 3 and 5pm and say you want to join they can hook you up.
How was my sales pitch? See you there?
Comments
Dues are $99/year and that gets you a subscription to Imbibe magazine, too. And discounted or free admission to Guild events. And bragging rights, of course.